Railroad-spike.



' PATENTED 00T. 15, 1907;

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RICHARD A. MARTIN, JR., OF WEST WARREN, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILROAD -SPIKE Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1907.

Application tiled January 7,1907. Serial No. 351,232.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I. Riom-inn A. MARTIN, Jr., a citizen ol' the United States. residing at Iest- Warren, in the county ol' Worcester and State ol Massachusetts, have invent ed certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object an improved construction of railroad spike which will securely hold itseli in the tie as against accidental displacement and whichma y be withdrawn whenever it is desired to do so.

ith this and other objects in view' as will more iully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions. arrangements and combinations ol the parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

For a iull understanding ol the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details ol construction oi the means lor etl'ecting the result. rolorence is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view ol my improved railroad spike; Fig. 2 is a rear edge view thereof with the key detached; and, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the Iollowing description and indicated in all the views o the drawings by the saine reference characters.

My improved spike l is provided with the usual head 2 and is lormed with the longitudinal groove 3 which extends trom and through the head and downwardly towards the opposite end oi the spike. One wall ol this groove 3, near the lower end of the groove is cut away to form the laterally opening recess Ll, and a dog 5 is pivotally suspended rom its upper end within said recess and is adapted to turn back into the groove 3, so that its angularly disposed end or nose G will lie with its extrem- I ity approximately ilush with the side of the spike. Preferably, the shank oi the dog is of a size to take up, when the dog is moved to its outer position, the amount ol metal that has been removed to provide the recess 4. In combination with this main spike I, I provide a key 7 which is formed with a relatively broad head 8 and a rearwardly extending lug 9 close to said head. In the practical operation ol applying my improved railroad spike. the dog is retracted into the groove 3 and the spike l is then driven down into the tie with its head 2 engaging the tace oi the rail in the usual manner. The key 7 is then driven downwardly within the groove 3 and engages the rear edge ol the dog 5 and thereby oroes the dog laterally out into the tie, the nose G penetrating the grain of the wood at right angles to the penetration oi the spike l. When the key is in place, its head 8 extends over and rests upon the head 2 of the spike l. Hence, it is manifest that the spike will be securely held in place as against accidental withdrawal. Whenever it is desired to detach the spike, the key 7 may be readily removed rom the groove by some suitable tool applied to its lug 9 and the spike l may then be pulled out7 the dog 5 retreating into the groove during this movement.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A railroad spike provided with a longitudinal groove and a recess leading outwardly through one wall of the groove, a dog pivotally suspended from its upper end in said recess and adapted to be retracted into the groove, said dog being provided with a beveled nose, and a key adapted to be driven down into said groove so as to engage the dog, and force its nose outwardly.

In testimony whereof I aiIiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD A. MARTIN, JR. [L. s.]

Witnesses WILLIAM N. CU'rLnn, KATE MACK. 

